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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · chair · racket · cold · chest · jam · club · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. club — for golf
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chest — a box
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cold — an illness
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. club — a group
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. chair — a leader
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com